Two French graffiti artists discovered an abandoned supermarket in the North of Paris and secretly turned it into an illegal artistic residency. more ›

Late this Saturday night, after they complete their second weekend concert at the MCA Stage, members of the Grammy Award-winning new-music group eighth blackbird will be joined by 40-odd area musicians to perform Terry Riley's seminal In C. more ›

Today, though, we're taking a look back to the 1970's, at some of the animated shorts Philip Glass scored for Sesame Street. more ›

Philip Glass is as close to a household name as living composers get these days. He's been referenced in South Park and The Simpsons and made an appearance on The Colbert Report earlier this year. His musical style is immediately identifiable and, just as important to his renown, has pervaded our culture, either through his own numerous and highly visible works (for example, he composed the film scores to Thin Blue Line, Candyman, Kundun, The Truman Show, The Hours, and Fog of War, among others) or through his massive influence (Brian Eno and David Bowie were early devotees). more ›

As Duke Ellington might have said, Arthur Russell was a musician and composer "beyond category." In his short life (he died of complications from AIDS at the age of 40) he composed and recorded music that could be classified as folk, disco, ambient, classical, pop and even country. He was born in Iowa and followed in his mother's footsteps by taking up the cello as a child. Later he moved to San Francisco (befriending Allan Ginsberg) and then eventually New York City, where he became a catalyst in the art scene of the 70's as musical director of The Kitchen. Ginsberg, who lived in the same apartment building as Arthur for many years, described his music as "Buddhist bubblegum," and it's that sly tension between childlike joy and a more cerebral experimentation that has posthumously made him a favorite of David Byrne, Jens Lekman and Pitchfork. more ›

Wunderkind composer Nico Muhly was the focus of a rather glowing New Yorker article a few months ago. Muhly was portrayed as a new kind of classicist; he is deeply respectful of traditionalism while still being completely open to experimentation with familiar form while still providing familiar musical touchstones to anchor the listener. His compositions have been performed by choirs, orchestras, and chamber ensembles; in concert halls, small theaters, and MTV2; nd to top it all off he's even provided orchestration for Björk. Yeah, we guess you could call him a classical composer. more ›

If you haven't yet seen a performance at Millennium Park's Harris Theater, you're missing out. It's a sleek space that has outstanding acoustics, and not only are the seats comfy but there's pretty much not a bad seat in the house. An upcoming concert of recent film music makes a great reason to give the Harris a try. more ›

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This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out... more ›